A prior art electrically-conductive fabric is made of a fabric which is coated on the outer surface thereof with a short fiber layer made of a conductive metal, such as copper, silver, etc. Such a fabric as described above is not suitable for the industrial use in light of its stiffness.
Another prior art electrically-conductive fabric is made of thermoplastic fibers, and carbon fibers which are provided with a coating of metal, such as copper, silver, or the like. This prior art fabric is not cost-effective in view of the high cost of carbon fibers, as well as the high cost of labor for coating the metal layer of the carbon fibers. In addition, the coated carbon fibers become heavy and stiff. Moreover, this prior art fabric can be made by weaving only, thereby undermining the matted properties of the fabric, such as the appearance or feel of the fabric surface, tension guality of the fabric, expansibility of the fabric, etc.